Prayers answered for organizers

Mary Walker and Anastasia Bradshaw had their prayers answered on Thursday afternoon.

The two had organized the first official ceremony of National Day of Prayer in Pasadena.

Held on the grounds of City Hall, the event brought out city council members and other city officials including Mayor Isbell, and the public.

“God just answered our prayers,” said Bradshaw.

With more than 100 people attending, the event was a success.

Bradshaw and Walker had begun planning since January.

It begins with phone calls and the cooperation of City Hall, which welcomed the event. Bradshaw.

“The first thing we did was call the city to make sure that they would allow us to be here and they were ready for it so it turned out to be a very good blend.,” she said. “They were ready for it to come back to City Hall.”

That blend represented nine ministers from the Pasadena church community.

The calls to local ministers were returned and participation was enthusiastic, said Bradshaw.

“They would call us back and they were ready,” she said.

Over the years, the attendance level has ebbed and flowed and Morris Bryant was one of those attending on Thursday who was glad to see a successful return of an event he has honored for years.

The retired Pasadena Police officer and member of Second Baptist, was recruited to keep the flag in place as the high winds proved an unexpected guest.

“We used to go the rodeo arena and it would be full and then it started dwindling and almost died,” he said. “This year, it picks me up because of the good attendance. I’d love to see this thing so big that this whole field would be covered.”

The months of hard work paid off for Bradshaw and Walker, who participate out of faith in the spiritual community to rally together.

“I think that people need to be challenged to pray,” said Walker. “By doing this, we remind people that our nation needs prayer. Someone told me to never underestimate the power of prayer.”